What it is: an illuminating profile of writer Anne Royall (1769-1854), one of America’s first female muckrakers, who was infamously tried for being a “common scold.”

Why you should read it: Though now nearly forgotten, Anne Royall was a trailblazing traveler and investigative journalist who was critical of both church and state -- a very modern woman ahead of her time.

What it is: Historian Edgar Feuchtwanger relates how his boyhood in a prominent German-Jewish family was affected by the arrival of a new neighbor, Adolf Hitler, who moved in across the street from his Munich home in 1929.

Read it for: Feuchtwanger’s riveting first-hand accounts of events such as the Night of the Long Knives, the Anschluss, and Kristallnacht.

What it's about: Artist and social justice activist Patrisse Khan-Cullors divulges the story of her life, from her 1980s childhood in suburban Los Angeles to her involvement in founding the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Is it for you? This passionate and candid coming-of-age memoir is for readers with a strong interest in social activism, LGBT issues, and human rights.

What it is: Author Gail Lumet Buckley, the daughter of singer Lena Horne, shares the multi-generational story of her African American family, from former Atlanta house slave Moses Calhoun to the family’s arrival in Brooklyn, New York, and beyond.

Further reading: For another saga of an African American family through several generations, check out From Slave Ship to Harvard by James H. Johnston.

What it's about: the haunting life story of Robert Peace, a brilliant young African American who grew up in the ghettos of 1980s Newark, New Jersey, but made his way into the Ivy League -- only to end up dealing drugs after graduation, which ultimately led to his death.

Author alert: The author of this compelling biography was Robert Peace’s roommate at Yale University.

You might also like: Kevin Powell's memoirThe Education of Kevin Powell, another gripping and sobering portrayal of life for post-Civil Rights African Americans.

What it is: Mychal Denzel Smith (who writes for The Nation) details the story of his life as a young black man coming of age in the United States, from his birth in 1980s Washington, D.C., to his time at the historically black Hampton University, to his life as a social activist.

Read it with: Ta-Nehisi Coates’ National Book Award-winning Between the World and Me, which also provides cultural commentary and probes the issue of race in America.

What it is: Physician Damon Tweedy discusses his experience as an African American in the world of medicine, from his education at Duke University Medical School up to his work as a psychiatrist in North Carolina.

Why you should read it: Tweedy not only shares his personal story but also looks critically at disparities in health care for black and white Americans.

What it is: a moving and thought-provoking meditation on the 1955 death of teenager Emmett Till and also that of his father, Louis Till, who was executed by the U.S. Army ten years earlier.

What sets it apart: By considering the stories of Emmett Till and his father, Louis, together, author John Edgar Wideman provides a new and thought-provoking narrative while reflecting on race and justice in America.

Further Reading: Mamie Till-Mobley's Death of Innocence or Timothy Tyson'sThe Blood of Emmett Till.